Incubator.



G. H. BOYD.

INGUBATQR. APPLIQATION FILED 0012.16, 190e. EBNBWBD JAN. 25, 1909.

Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

2 SHEETS-*SHEET 1.

GEORGE H. BOYD, 0F WASHINGTON, DISTRICTOF GOLUMBA.

IN CUB AT OR Speccation of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 1G, 1906, Serial No. 339,176. Renewed January25, 19,09. Serial No. 474,154,

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, Grenen H. Born, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of lVashington, in the District of Columbia,have invented a newand useful Improvement in lncubators, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates, primarily, to lampheated incubator-s, and itconsists in certain novel combinations of parts hereinafter describedand claimed.

The leading object of the present invention is to render practicable theadmission of external air into the egg chamber at bottoni in a verydirect way so. as-to fully utilizo its natural moisture and ozone, andat the same time to prevent such air being drawn into the egg chamber sorapidly as to chill the eggs.

Another object is to provide for freely discharging the foul air chargedwith carbondioXid from the egg chamber through the top of the latter soas to more perfectly ventilate the egg chamber.

Another object is to shorten the outlet pipe through which the foul airis discharged in the manner set forth in my previous specificationforming part of Letters Patent No. 828,181, dated August 7, 1906, and atthe same time to keep the pipe free from dampers and like obstructions.

Another object is to provide, in so discharging the foul air, for thefree liow of the air in larger quantity and consequently at lessvelocity from an egg chamber of given cubical capacity.

@ther objects are to more uniformly and effectively heat the egg chamberfrom outside its metallic walls, and to utilize for this purpose the hotproducts of combustion as well as the air heated by the lamp.

Two sheets of drawings accompany this specification as part thereof.

Figure 1 is a side view of the improved incubator with the flues in theforeground in vertical section; Fie'. 2 represents a cross section onthe line llt-4B, Fig. 1, omitting some of the parts; Fig. 3 represents ahorizontal section on the line .CD, Fig. 2; and F ig. l represents avertical section on the line E-F, Fig. 3, a flue in the plane of sectionbeing shown in elevation.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in alll the iigures.

in the improved incubator a rectangular or substantially rectangular eggchamber, a, is provided with the customary double-glass door, ct, at oneof its vertical sides or ends Patented Aue. 24, 1909.

hereinafter termed its front end; its other vertical sides, 1, 2 and 8,and its top, li, are of suitable heat-conducting sheet metal; and itsfloor, 5, is preferably and conveniently of wood forming part 0f theouter casing, Z), of the incubator. The vertical walls and top of thecasing Z) are preferably and conveniently of wood, and the whole islined with asbestos cloth, 6, or the like, which forms a farpet withinthe egg chamber a. An inner lining, c, of sheet metal covered withasbestos cloth, 7, or the like', forms a non-conducting air space, d,beneath the top of the outer casing t and within its vertical sides andends. Between this inner lining` c and the metallic top and side wallsof the egg chamber a a hot-air chamber, c, is formed, and a hot-airtube, f, Figs. 3 and 1i, connect the side por- Yions of this hot-airchamber with each other immediately inside the door, ct; said tubeextending horizontally through the egg chamber at at the bottom, andserving to promote the circulation of the hot-air and to prevent thechilling of the eggs near the door.

Uutside air is freely admitted to the egg chamber a bottom through acentral opening, S, shown in the plane of section in Figs. 2 and 4; abaliie plate, 9, of asbestos board or the like being supported above thefloor of the egg chamber adjacent to this opening, so as to prevent adirect draft therethrough; the fresh air being thus compelled to enterthe vegg chamber near its warm side walls and in Contact with thehot-air tube f at the front of the egg chamber, as indicated by arrowsin Figs. 2 and Li.

rlhe foul air is discharged from the top of the egg chamber a, through acentral opening, 10, in its metallic top, into and through an outletpipe, g, which is flattened as shown so that a pipe of relatively'largearea in cross section may be introduced between the egg chamber t andthe top of the incubator without contracting the egg chamber orenlarging the casing. The object of employing an amp ly large pipe is togive it suiiicient capacity for the free escape therethrough of the foulair at a low velocity, in order that there may be no appreciable draftwithin the egg chamber. Said outlet pipe g extends in a horizontal planeobliquely through the outer casing Z), as shown in Fig. 3, so as toprotrude through the rear end of the casing near one of its longitudinalsides; and from this point it extends obliquely downward as shown bydotted lines in Fig. 2, so as to be confined to a single external bendwithout interfering with its effective operation. The escape of the foulair charged with carbon-dioxid thrown olf by the eggs is thus easilyregulated with great nicety in the manufacture of the incubator, so asto obviate the adjustment of slides or the like when the incubator is inuse.

Said hot-air chamber c is preferably and conveniently heated by means ofa lamp, 7L, Fig. 1, located at one side of the incubator externallybeneath a vertical openended flue, z', which is jacketed against theradiation of heat, and is connected with said hotair chamber by twotubular connections, 11 and 12, at points near the top and near thebottoni of the incubator respectively, so as to provide for acirculation of the hot air within the hot-air chamber c and saidvertical flue t', and in this way to provide for a more equaldistribution of heat around the chamber. To more fully insure theheating of the front end of the egg chamber a to an ample extent toequalize the cooling effect of the joints around the door a and theoccasional opening of the door, the upper tubular connection 11 isprovided with an extension 11 which may be flattened as shown toaccommodate an extension of equal area at least in cross section ascompared Vith the connection 11 within the hot-air space above the eggchamber a, and thus to insure a free discharge through said connection11 and extension 11 into the hot-air chamber c. An inner flue, j,extends upwardly within said vertical 'line i from the lamp burner asits chimney, and is curved at its upper end so as to enter the uppertubular connection 11 to a su'licient extent as shown in Fig. 2. In thisway the hot products of combustion are ordinarily mixed with the hot airthat enters the hot-air chainber e from the interior of the vert-ical[lue z', and the heating capacity of the lamp is thus more fullyutilized as compared with the arrangement set forth inthe specificationforming` part of said Letters Patent No. 828,181.

The heat is regulated automatically by a thermostat, 7c, wit-hin the eggchamber a, connected by a vertical rod, 13, with the customary externalweighted lever, 14, which is in turn connected at its long end with thecenter of a damper, 15, that normally closes the upper end of saidvertical flue i. Should the heat become excessive the expansion of theextensible member of the thermostat la causes the latter to transmitmotion through said lever 14 to said damper 15 in such a way as to openthe upper end of the flue z' more or less, so that the hot air and eventhe products of combustion may find a direct exit at the upper end ofthe flue, and thus be kept from entering the hot-air chamber c, wherebythe temperature within the egg chamber is quickly regulated, which is amatter of great importance.

Normally the upper end of the flue i is closed by the damper 15, and thedischarge from the lamp flue and hot-air spaces is through an uptake, Z,arranged centrally at the rea-r end of the hot-air chamber e andcommunicating therewith immediately above its bottom. i

A suitable lamp-support, shown in Fig. 1, consists of a laterallyswinging shelf or table, 16, a pivotal rod, 17, extending upward througha pair of screw-eye guides, 18 and 19, attached to the adjacent side ofthe casing, and a helical spring, 20, and screw nut, 21, surrounding therod 17 above one of said guides. The tension of such spring should beonly enough to hold the lamp 7i in place and to prevent the accidentaldisplacement of the lamp-support table or shelf 1G.

For the purposes of the present invention the lamp support, thethermostat and the appurtenances of the latter may be of any known orimproved construction; and other like modifications will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described said improvement, I claim as my invention, anddesire to patent under this specification:

1. The combination, in an incubator, of an egg chamber, means forheating the same, an outer casing inclosing said chamber and provided atbottom with an air inlet in communication with said egg chamber, andmeans for controlling the free escape of foul air from said chamber,such means consisting of an open ended and imobstructed outlet pipecommunicating with the top of the chamber and extending thencehorizontally through the outer casing and obliquely downward outside thecasing.

2. The combination, in an incubator, of an egg chamber having aheat-conducting top of sheet metal, means for heating the same includinga hot-air chamber extending horizontally above the egg-chamber top, anouter casing inclosing said hot air chamber and provided at bottom withan air inlet in communication with said egg chamber, and

means for controlling the free escape of foul air from said chamber,such means consist ing oi' an open-ended and unobstructed outlet. pipeand flattened to accommodate itself to a relatively contracted hot-airspace above said egg-chamber top, said outlet pipe communicating withthe top ot the egg chamber, and extending thence horizontally throughtheouter casing and outside said casing.

3. The combination, in an incubator, ot an egg chamber having aheat-conducting top otl sheet metal, means for heating the sameincluding a hot-air chamber extending horizontally above the egg-chambertop, an outer casing inclosing said hot air chamber, an air inlet in theioor of said egg chamber, means for distributing the fresh air enteringthe chamber, and means for controlling the tree escape ot foul air fromsaid chamber, such controlling means consisting ot an openended andunobstructed outlet pipe and flattened to accommodate itself to arelatively contracted hot-air space above said egg-chamber, said outletpipe communicating with the top of the egg chamber at a central point,and extending thence horizontally through the outer casing and obliquelydownward outside the casing.

l. The combination, in an incubator, of an egg chamber havingsubstantially parallel side walls and a substantially horizontal top ofheat conducting sheet metal, an inlet door substantially at rightanglesto said side walls, means for heating the egg chamber including a hotair chamber extending on both sides of the egg chamber immediatelyoutside said walls and said top, a hot air tube connecting the two sideportions ot said hot air chamber with each other and extending throughthe front end ot the egg chamber immediately inside said inlet door, avertical open-ended heat flue, tubular connections between said flue andsaid hot air chamber near the bottom of the latter and near its toprespectively, a lamp beneath said fine as means for supplying heat, andan inner flue forming the chimney of the lamp and extending upwardwithin said vertical flue and into the uppermost of said tubularconnections.

The combinatiomin an incubator, of an egg chamber having substantiallyparallel side walls and a substantially horizontal top otheat-conducting sheet metal, means for heating the same including ahot-air chamber extending outside said walls and in contact therewith,an outer casing inclosing said hot-air chamber, a vertical open-endedheat tlue outside said casing at one side of said hot-air chamber,tubular connections between said flue and the hot-air chamber near thebottom ot' the latter and near its top respectively, a lamp beneath saidflue as means for supplying heat, an inner flue forming the chimney ofthe lamp and extending upward within said vertical flue and into theuppermost ot said tubular connections, and means for the admission ott'resh air to said egg chamber and 'for the discharge of foul airtherefrom.

G. The combination, in an incubator, of an chamber having substantiallyparallel side wallsl and a substantially horizontal top otheat-conducting sheet metal, an inlet door substantially at right anglesto said side walls and a heat-conducting end wall paralflel therewith,mea-ns tor heating the same including a hot-air chamber extendingoutside said walls and said top and in contact therewith and ahorizontal hot-air tube extending through said side walls within the eggchamber immediately inside said inlet door, an outer casing inclosingsaid hot-air chamber, a vertical open-ended heat flue outside saidcasing at one side of said hot-air chamber, tubular connections betweensaid flue and the hot air chamber near the bottom of the latter and nearits top respectively, an extension of at least equal area in crosssection extending inwardly from the uppermost ot said connections towardthe door end of the incubator, and a lamp beneath said tlue as means forsupplying heat.

7. The combination, in an incubator, ot an egg chamber havingsubstantially parallel side walls and a substantially horizontal top otheat-conducting sheet metal, an inlet door substantially at right anglesto said side walls and a heat-conducting end wall parallel therewith,means for heating the same including a hot-air chamber extending outsidesaid walls and said top and in contact therewith and a horizontalhot-'air tube extending through said side walls within the egg chamberimmediately inside said inlet door, an outer casing inclosing saidhot-air chamber, a vertical open-ended heat tlue outside said casing atone side of said hotair chamber, tubular connections between said flueand the hot air chamber near the bottom ot the latter and near its toprespectively, a lamp beneath said flue as means tor supplying heat, andan inner flue forming the chimney ot the lamp and extending upwardwithin said vertical flue and into the uppermost otl said tubularconnections.

8. rl`he combination, in an incubator, of an egg chamber havingsubstantially parallel side walls and a substantially horizontal top ofheat-conducting sheet metal, an inlet door substantially at right anglesto said side walls and a heat conducting end wall parallel therewith, anouter casing, a lining of the same, a hot air chamber inclosed by saidlining extending outside said heat conduct-.

ing walls and in contact therewith, a horizontal hot air tube extendingthrough said sidewalls within the egg chamber immediately inside saidinlet door, a vertical openended heat flue outside said casing at oneSide of Said hot-air chamber, tubular connections between said flue andthe hot-air chamber near the bottom of the latter and near its toprespectively, an extension of at 5 least equal area in Cross sect-ionextending inwardly from the uppermost of said conneetions toward thedoor end of the incuhater, a lamp supported beneath said lue as meansfor supplying heat, an inner flue 10 forming the chimney of the lamp andeX- tending upward Wit-hin said vert-ical flue and l l l 1 l inte saiduppein'xoet tubular connection, a' thermostat within the egg chamber, aheatregulating,l damper at the uppei1 end of Said Vert-ical line, andmeans for transmitting m0- 15 tion from Said thermoetat to Said damper,Silhstantially as hereinbefoi'e specified.

GEO. H. BOYD.

Vitnesses JAS. L. EWIN, A. M. SPOFFORD.

